2011 was the year of dragon slaying, V12 engines, chilling murder mysteries and good ‘ol ‘shrooms. Those who spent the year plugging away at these vidya games know what we’re talking about. The past 365 saw some great releases we’ll no doubt keep playing past doomsday even if sequels dominated the past twelve months. It’s AG though since a good game is just that; no matter the number attached at the end. We didn’t play every last release but got our hands on more than a few gems. So please drop the controller for a moment and take a look at the Crew’s picks. You’re looking kinda pale from that all night cowadooty fest anyway.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — Gamers love customization, a fact never lost on Bethesda Game Studios. The fifth game in the ever-expansive Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim gives players an unparalleled sense of freedom within the game’s realm. Literally every item in this game and every non-playable character serves some sort of purpose. You may drop $60 on this and spend more time getting married to a virtual wife and decorating the interior of a house than slaying dragons and casting bad-ass spells. Not exactly the path that we’d recommend, but it’s ultimately your call. — AJ

Super Mario Land 3D Land – Nintendo 3DS — Even if you don’t own a Nintendo 3DS, you owe it to yourself to try out the newest Mario entry at your local Walmart/Target. As simple as Skyrim is complex, 3D Land sees Nintendo’s beloved mascot at his side-scrolling best. Old-school, care-free gameplay blends with innovative 3D visuals to make Mario’s latest one of the most fun games you’ll play in years. — AJ

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – PS3 — As corny as it is to wax poetically about video games, projects like Uncharted need to be given credit for what they do to further their medium. Using vast, expansive landscapes that easily rival those seen on the big screen and an intricately-constructed plot, Drake’s Deception blurs the line between “electronic toy” and “art.” It’s damn near impossible to find anything less than critical acclaim for the third title in the Uncharted series, and given the open-ended conclusion, look for Nathan Drake’s Indiana Jones-esque adventures to continue. — AJ

Batman Arkham City – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — Not only is this the best superhero video game ever, it ranks up there as one of the best Batman stories to come out in recent memory. The Batman: The Animated Series creators and voice actors come together to create a new chapter to the Batman ethos that is as engaging as it is visually breathtaking. Simple controls, addicting challenges and innovative detective work makes this one of the best video games of the year. When you crank this game up, you’re going to want to pack a lunch because you won’t go anywhere once the opening credits roll. — David D.

NBA 2K12 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — NBA 2K11 is the second-best sports game of all time. NBA 2K12 is now sitting on the throne. After weeks of endless play, commentators are still finding new things to talk about and the gameplay is steadily adapting. The folks at Visual Concepts are still making vast improvements as if there’s another basketball franchise breathing down its neck. — David D.

NCAA Football 12 – PS3, Xbox 360 — There was a time when the NCAA football franchise was just the previous year’s Madden with option plays thrown in. Well, that changed. With an ESPN interface and, well, competent commentary, NCAA Football has become the top pigskin franchise around. Of course, that’s not saying much, but if you want one football game to play this is it. — David D.

FIFA 12 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — The career mode has some weird bugs and the impact engine makes you go from “wow nice tackle” to “WTF no foul?” in a heartbeat. FIFA 12 still makes good on the lions share of what it offers and will have you howlin’ as if you’re in Old Trattford. Now if only we can ban all these Speedy Gonzalez-ass strikers from online pro games. — S. Cadet

Forza Motorsport 4 – Xbox 360 — Forza 4’s a by the numbers sequel on the surface. Dig deeper and you’ll see it managed to make some substansial improvements to what was, at one point, one of the best racing games out. You might as well give it a spin if you’re a 360 owner with a lead foot because, honestly, this 2 disc romp is the closest most of us will get to driving a 458 Italia. — S. Cadet

Portal 2 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — The quirky first person platformer meets puzzle game forces mind over muscle as you make your way through some real head scratchers. Sharp writing soaked in witty nerd humor makes the journey a must play for those looking for a little more substance. Besides, who can say no to the amazing teleport gun? The game’s got a distinct character so many other releases lacked this year and never takes itself too seriously. It’s co-op campaign adds another set of great challenges definitely worth playing with a friend. — S. Cadet

Battlefield 3 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — EA’s crown jewel made my computer cry more times than I’d like to admit. Nevertheless, the online experience has been well worth the hiccups. Honestly, the insane feats you can pull off in this game would make Rambo shed a tear. — S. Cadet

Deus Ex: Human Revolution – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 – A highly anticipated prequel in the Deus Ex series, Human Revolution was everything fans had hoped: a perfectly made first-person shooter-RPG. Though a few technical issues with load times and weapon misbalancing, the game will still be reverend as a genre classic because of the masterpiece storytelling and compelling game play. — Darius Sinclair™

L.A. Noire – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — A complete flip from Rockstar’s usual GTA series, this game features the player controlling a detective, traveling through various departments to solve mysteries. Though gameplay was shoddy at times, the plotline is phenomenal, and potentially one of the greatest to be featured in a video game. I can easily see a movie being based on this and George Clooney playing the role of Cole Phelps. — Raj

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — This campaign picks up right where MW2 left off, and online play is stellar as usual. Gameplay is more refined and fluid, and any player of the series will have a seamless transition into this one, with little or no learning curve. The series has developed to a point now where there aren’t any more jaw-dropping updates, instead opting for fine tweaks here and there. — Raj

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – PC, PS3, Xbox 360 — Another game with a phenomenal plotline, and instantly compelling story that features less repetitive gameplay that its predecessors. There are three lead characters this go around, and even though the missions aren’t extremeley challenging, they still hold their weight in entertainment value. The controls have been streamlined to better fit human intuition and instinct, and the missions all fit into the larger scheme of things. In short, Revelations is the series’ magnum opus. — Raj

Batman for game of the year. I tried to play skyrim I could not get in to it. The bugs ain’t help either.

I haven’t played 2k12 but I can say that 2k11 is not the 2nd best sports game of all time. Maybe the 2nd best of this generation but of all time hell no. That new assassins creed is not as good as the last ones. Kind of a waste of money.

12.14.11 at 4:14 pm

TC

After I wasted time and money on Morrowind back in the day, I immediately turned on the blinders when Skyrim was being developed…but it appears to be that deal

I think its funny that Mario, Sonic, and Halo are all getting re-released and sold at 40 bucks… more than they sold for when they originally came out. My game of the year is FIFA 12, but since sports games arent as in depth game-wise as others, outside of the sports genre its Total War: Shogun 2.

I’m definitely in agreement with most of this list, mainly because I own all of the sports games noted! Still, as my dude Panda said FIFA 12 is the game of the year hands down, I play it religiously and have multiple seasons going on. I won’t even ask why Madden isn’t on this list because you’ve made your disdain for the game quite evident (I still like it, it’s not perfect but damn near close), or even why NHL 12 didn’t make the cut neither. As far as action games, Uncharted 3 is tops for me in terms of graphics, story line and gameplay, until the next Resident Evil comes out (part 5 was CRAZY!) or until I finally finish Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

ps: Anybody buying the Playstation VITA next year? I think that it will kill the Nintendo DS and is a sure sign that the Playstation 4 is around the corner.

@500k
Naw I don’t think madden is anywhere close to being perfect. My final straw with that game was a few days ago when I kicked a game winning field goal. There was still one second left and I lost not because of a kick being returned or a hail mary but because of a network timeout. That is by far the worst football game I ever played.

I was drinking at some local bar when Skyrim dropped. One of my good hommies, who was drunk at the time, called his girlfriend at like midnight to drive him to the local Gamestop to pick up the game. Per his words, he standed in line – drunk – for 2 hours until he could finally get his hands on it, then he went home and had to have played it for at least 10 hours. He was at level 20 in like three days.

I think you’ll find that TSS people divided about Madden. I really liked 12, but then I never owned 11 (or 10 for that matter), so it was a revelation. Ask D. about Madden and you’ll get a totally different answer.

Fight Night Champion was cool but it didn’t stick with me for long. FIFA 12 simply a better game in my eyes even w/ its issues.

I actually started Resistance 3 last night after this was finalized. I don’t know about its status as a potential honorable mention but I like it so far. I had issues with the game not installing properly though so that was annoying.

Madden deserves no mention on this list cause it was shit. I haven’t bought a Madden since ’09 and playing this Madden 12 was a biiiig dropoff, everything from the menus to the commentary to the running was terrible.

Holy cow….you put NCAA Football 12, the buggiest version of Madden’s Little Brother ever, on this list, but no Skyward Sword? Good lord, you should have your internet privileges revoked on basic principle.

Why do sports games make the list at all? They always make the same game every year. What about games like Infamous 2, Resistance 3, Mortal Kombat?!!? even LittleBigPlanet2 jeez what kind of list is this!!